HW: Watney's Red Barr

[Mark Edmonds]

From: Mark Edmonds
Date: 1998-12-17 10:32

>I'm listening to the Hammersmith disc of Rush's _Different Stages_ right
>now, and during "Working Man," Geddy drops "Watney's Red Barrel" into
>the lyric.  Nik Turner also does this in "Utopia '84."

>So what's the fascination with this beer?  Does (did) it even taste any
>good, or was this all just a cruel joke on the audience by the bands
>in question?... :-)

>Jonesin' for some Scrumpy Jack,

>Paul.

I think its just regarded as being real crap beer. Monty Python made some
big joke about it in some sketch about package holidays in the south of
Spain and when I were a lad, most people would go around reciting this
sketch from memory so I think that maybe it got into the national culture a
little bit - I am sure this is why Nik quotes it. However, this of course
doesn't explain why a bunch of Canadians started to quote it unless Geddy is
a Python fan.

What is this Rush "Different Stages" disc? The only live discs I have are
All the Worlds, Exit...Stage Left and A Show of Hands and I didn't think any
were recorded at Hammersmith. Is it a new official release I haven't heard
about?

Mark